The People's Galactic Republic: A History
by EnsignRicky
Summary: The Clone War was long and devastating. Trillions of beings across the galaxy died in the span of just 5 years. Worlds were devastated, families separated, entire populations starving! These were all failures of the old system, and the new one that came after it and failed to fix the problems. The Revolution did what was necessary to end the suffering.
1. Forward

**A/N:  
Hello! This is a random idea I had while reading a history book that happened to be about Communist Russia. This triggered a thought: What if I put Communism in Star Wars? Space Communism! Interesting idea, no? This is not meant to reflect my political views (moderate conservative) in any way, nor is it meant to bash others. No offense intended to anyone who may or may not support a communist system. This is just a "what if?" scenario.  
**

 **This is obviously based on the route Russia took to communism.** **If you notice any historical inconsistencies, (and there certainly will be some) either I screwed up, or I changed it because it wouldn't work in Star Wars.**

 **Without further ado, enjoy the forward!**

* * *

 _For my son, Jorvin, whom I'm thankful will always get a choice in life._

* * *

Comrade Mon Mothma, first ruler of the People's Galactic Republic, 3 APR (After People's Revolution):

 _The Clone War was long and devastating. Trillions of beings across the galaxy died in the span of just 5 years. Worlds were devastated, families separated, entire populations starving! These were all failures of the old system, and the new one that came after it and failed to fix the problems. The Revolution did what was necessary to end the suffering._

This is the rhetoric that would define a quarter of the galaxy for a hundred years. _The Revolution is our savior, the other political and economic forces would be our downfall._

One problem with that; it wasn't true, of course. The rhetoric had been proven false before it was uttered. The Old Republic flourished for millennium under an elected ruling body and capitalist trade principles, the antithesis of everything the revolution stood for.

A series of dictators would rule the galaxy for a century, singing the revolution's praises. Of course they would. They reaped all of the benefits. The average citizen would be lucky to get a meal a day for most of revolutionary history. It was a privileged few who remained full for any length of time.

It was a revolution of deceit, lies, and brute force. The supposedly "enlightened" revolutionaries were largely just political terrorists, whether they admitted it or not. Even if the revolution was backed by the people in the beginning, it quickly devolved into a totalitarian system, where the party elite held all the power. Anyone who stood up would be quashed, anyone who spoke out would be dealt with. You got your place in life, and you had better be happy with it.

I, your humble author, had the fortune of being born at the tail end of the dictatorship's time in power. I lived through the reforms that were the beginning of the end, I reported on the newly freed holonet of the warships blockading Coruscant. While the newer democratic system certainly isn't perfect, I, and most of my colleges prefer it immensely to the old dictatorship.

This is a ride through history. I was born with an interest in past events, so I decided to put it to good use. Here's to hoping this book ends up on classroom desks in a few years. It would be nice if the government would do that, this should be much better than those boring, dusty old textbooks that haven't been updated in decades.

Nonetheless, I'm getting off track now. Let's get started.

* * *

 **A/N:  
** **So... what do you think? Is this actually interesting? Am I completely off my rocker? Am I going to get a bunch of people screaming at me in reviews and PMs for delving into politics? (Probably)**

 **Please let me know if you want more.**


	2. Imperial Rule

**A/N  
Hey, guess what! I wasn't bashed for delving into the socioeconomic or geopolitical aspects of Star Wars. Go figure. Maybe they just haven't found me yet.**

 **Bonus points to anyone who identifies which character represents which real-life historical figure!**

* * *

The Clone War raged across the galaxy for five long years. This is one of the areas that the new regime didn't lie about; it did cause massive destruction. Worlds like Honoghr would never be able to sustain life again. Many more would suffer massive damage, some taking decades to recover. Everyone was affected.

Anti-war demonstrations would take place during these years, predominantly run by folks who had lost friends and family members, or some who actively hated the existing system. The revolutionaries who would later take over the government were, of course, among the second category.

Mon Mothma was the former senator from Chandrila, good friends with Alderaanian senator Bail Organa, and also a serious political activist. She was well known in the final days of the Old Republic as a bastion of democracy and justice in a largely corrupt system. This may have been correct in the early days of the war, but by a year from the end, she was actively pushing for increasingly communist reforms.

In an interview with what would eventually become the official media outlet of the Party, _Veracity_ , four months before the end of the Clone War, then-senator Mothma explained her political changes.

 _Yes, I once supported Chancellor Palpatine. I also supported the liberal and capitalist bills and policies that he supported. But about a year ago, I assisted with a supply drop to Ryloth. You know the place, yes? There has been fighting raging there since the first days of the war. The transport I was on-board was shot down near one of the larger cities. In that time, the week I spent with them, I saw the Twi'lek people at their finest. They worked as a unit, they shared food, vehicles, equipment, and were willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of the people. This was just one larger example from a lifetime of similar events. Wouldn't your views change after experiences like that?_

It is worth noting that there is no record of Senator Mothma ever having been to Ryloth.

* * *

The war would finally end in 3 BPR, with the CIS annexed and dissolved, extermination of the Jedi, and formation of the New Order. There is a certain humor that Palpatine's promised millennium of safety and peace would last just 3 years before he, too, was overthrown.

 _These Jedi murderers left me scarred, left me deformed, but they could not scar my integrity! They could not deform my resolve! The remaining traitors will be hunted down, rooted out wherever they may hide, and brought to justice, dead or alive! All collaborators will suffer the same fate. Those who protect the enemy are the enemy! Now is the time! Now we will strike back! Now we will destroy the destroyers! Death to the enemies of the democracy!_

 _This has been the most trying of times, but we have passed the test. The war is over!_

 _The Separatists have been utterly defeated, and the Republic will stand. United! United and free!_

 _The Jedi Rebellion was our final test—it was the last gasp of the forces of darkness! Now we have left that darkness behind us forever, and a new day has begun! It is morning in the Republic!_

 _Never again will we be divided! Never again will sector turn against sector, planet turn against planet, sibling turn against sibling. We are one nation, indivisible!_

 _To ensure that we will always stand together, that we will always speak with a single voice and act with a single hand, the Republic must change. We must evolve. We must grow. We have become an empire in fact; let us become an Empire in name as well! We are the first Galactic Empire!_

 _We are an Empire that will continue to be ruled by this august body! We are an Empire that will never return to the political maneuvering and corruption that have wounded us so deeply; we are an Empire that will be directed by a single sovereign, chosen for life!_

 _We are an Empire ruled by the majority! An Empire ruled by a new Constitution! An Empire of laws, not of politicians! An Empire devoted to the preservation of a just society. Of a safe and secure society! We are an Empire that will stand ten thousand years!_

 _We will celebrate the anniversary of this day as Empire Day. For the sake of our children. For our children's children! For the next ten thousand years! Safety! Security! Justice and peace!_

 _Say it with me! Safety, Security, Justice, and Peace! Safety, Security, Justice, and Peace!_

An estimated 2 trillion civilian casualties were suffered on both sides during the Clone War. It would remain the most destructive war in galactic history until the Great Patriotic War 40 years later. Casualty counts do not include clones or droids on either side.

Reformation from a democratic union to a devolved constitutional monarchy was abrupt and jarring. Palpatine seized power much too quickly; stripping the senate of their privileges was met with general outrage. His rule would be defined by a series of unpopular reforms and revolts. Tightened restrictions on free speech and a shift towards state capitalism with the nationalization of the Trade Federation and other trade corporations led to extremely low approval ratings across the board. These would make him hated by the now powerless senate, and more importantly, by the people.

The major crisis that would tip the scales in favor of the revolutionaries would come just a year after Palpatine declared himself emperor. Please note that the information on this event, and many of the following events, is sketchy at best.

A few light-years from Duro, a civilian cargo hauler/passenger liner was asked to exit hyperspace by an Imperial patrol. The patrol, in the report that followed, said that the liner was asked repeatedly to prepare for inspection, but refused to answer their hails, then opened fire and tried to flee. 3 survivors in an escape pod that were rescued by salvagers days later said they were needlessly attacked by a marauding, bloodthirsty Star Destroyer.

Regardless of who was telling the truth, or what mix of the two accounts was correct, the result was 73 dead civilian crewman and passengers. The Imperial press hushed up the accident, of course. For weeks after the accident, there was no mention of the deaths in the official media. It wasn't until _Veracity_ published an interview with one of the survivors that the general public had any knowledge of the incident.

 _Veracity_ 's interview was biased, to say the least. It was also probably heavily edited to demonize the Empire. The questions and answers seemed to be in sync with each other, creating a nice loop of Empire bashing.

Mothma and Organa used the incident to show the 'true colors' of the Emperor, painting a pretty picture of Imperial hatred of the common being. While it was unclear who was responsible, the Empire's failure to say anything about the incident turned public opinion even further from the ruling elite. The revolutionaries now had the momentum, and they used it to their advantage, convincing, bribing, or threatening others to support their cause.

In late 2 BPR, The Emperor began enforcing recruitment for Stormtroopers from Imperial worlds to supplement the existing clone military. Again, the Emperor seemed to be ignoring the general populace. After a 5 year war with just 2 years of economic recovery, not to mention the massive civilian casualties, most Coruscanti were already concerned about the massive price ticket on the cloning process and the massive _Imperial_ -classes.*

By the start of 1 BPR, most Imperial citizens felt betrayed. When declaring himself Emperor, Palpatine had promised 'safety, security, justice, and peace.' Instead, they were getting rampant piracy, tyranny, repression, and a continuing war economy. Understandably, they were upset.

Mothma and Organa, together with other convert senators like Garm Bel Iblis and Fang Zar, continued to underline the failures of Palpatine's administration. Throughout 2-1 BPR, the revolutionary leaders and millions of volunteers from across the galaxy worked to spread their message to the people. In a legitimate sign of goodwill and caring, a university on Anaxes sold all but the essential goods for school operation to raise money for food, to be shipped directly to a starving Rodia. The university professor in who organized the ordeal went on the record, saying,

 _Actions like this redistribution of wealth from the entitled to the war weary are necessary to save society._

He was later arrested for 'preaching anti-establishment ideals, and questioning the sovereignty of our good and honest Emperor.' The man and several of his 'co-conspirators' spent the rest of their lives in the spice mines of Kessel. That was one of the things linking the Empire to the revolution, while both were in power, Kessel never had a shortage of political prisoners.

* * *

*At this time, the Empire was spending about 60% of it's budget on Star Destroyer production and payment to the Kamino and other cloners.


	3. Revolutionary Momentum

**A/N  
Hello everyone. This authors note is addressed to all readers of my other story, _Sticks and Stones_. (Shameless self-advertizing: check it out if you want to see a decent Grievous Lives story line.)**

 **School started up. Not a huge deal to my readers, normally, but guess what my English course wants me to do? Write an original narrative story. What do I do, like an idiot? Decide to start a multi-chapter epic set in WWI. So now I'm committed to finishing that for my English course. Writing is just a hobby, so unfortunately, fanfiction takes backstage to getting an education. Sorry guys, I'll try to keep writing when I can, but English will take priority. Keep an eye out, certainly; I may find a few days where I can write uninterrupted and get a chapter or two finished, but that's unlikely to happen for awhile. So while _Sticks and Stones_ is by no means dead, it will probably be going un-updated for some time. I'll copy this message to my profile so more people might see it, hopefully. Maybe find time to do another interlude chapter so all of the followers in the actual story can see it.  
Anyways, enjoy the fruits of ~4ish hours I had to myself.**

* * *

The last year of the Emperor's rule was filled with turmoil. Major incident after incident eroded his trust in the eyes of the public. Undeniably, the only that kept him in power as throughout that last year was the fanatically loyal Imperial Navy.

By this time, most high ranking officers in the military hierarchy had gotten their positions only because of Palpatine. He knew that placing people in positions of power, especially where they had no right to be, would breed absolute loyalty. Even so, some of these officers would defect towards the end of the year.*

The events that took place throughout the first half of 1 BPR under the Empire's watch are nothing short of atrocious. On 1.15.-1, Stormtroopers under the command of Maj. Gen. Schlott exercised a full blown massacre on the alien populace of Rhommamool. An estimated 40,000 died planet-wide in Schlott's attempts to 'root out the traitors in the alien populace.' A month later, the ISD _Inferno_ wiped an entire city off of the map on Ord Cantrell. Horrendous acts like these were being carried out almost weekly throughout the last two months, all in the name of 'preserving the peace.'

In his last year, and arguably his entire reign, Emperor Palpatine was completely disconnected from the populace. Reports say he spent the majority of his time hidden away in the throne room, doing who knows what. Even his inner circle appeared to have no idea what he was doing. As Mas Amedda, former Vice-Chancellor and personal adviser to Palpatine once responded to an interviewer's question:

 _The Emperor spends a great deal of time in his personal chambers, executing plans regarding the management of this glorious Empire. I cannot say more; state business, matters of secrecy, you understand._

In wake of the Emperor's extremely shady personal life, the revolutionaries bred rumors of sorcery and horrible experiments taking place in his quarters. These probably weren't true, but with no concrete information on exactly what was going on, we will probably never know.

* * *

In the first week of the fourth month, major party leaders met in secret on Alderaan to discuss the governance system once the party took over. In attendance were all three major leaders of the movement; senators Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, and Garm Bel Iblis, along with most of the other supporting senators.**

The revolutionaries had carefully constructed an image over the past few years. They were the strong, united, fair, and just opposition to Palpatine's tyranny. That's what the outside world thought. Inside was a much different story. On the inside, a civil war was brewing. At the above mentioned party meeting, the issues broiled up to the surface.

The Communal Party had two major factions inside of it. On the far left, led by Mothma and Organa, were those who wanted a true Communist government. No elections, command economy, and a totalitarian system. The more moderate group, lead by Bel Iblis, wanted more of a Socialist system; free elections, something resembling state capitalism, and an only slightly repressed society.

Obviously, the two groups had some problems with each other. At the aforementioned meeting, an argument started between Mothma and Bel Iblis. This would be the first of many. This particular one was over the issue of party membership, actually a rather important issue for a far-left state.

In the vote, Mothma's faction barely beat out Bel Iblis's by a margin of just a few votes. She promptly declared her faction the 'majority', and soon after Bel Iblis's became the 'minority'. Neither party was actually in the majority or minority; there were several swing votes that changed sides depending on the issue. This was just a prime example of Mothma's long history of psychological warfare and intimidation tactics. Nonetheless, the names stuck throughout both of their histories.

* * *

It was on 8.17.-1 that the final straw came. Palpatine, in his eternal wisdom, declared war on the semi-independent Bothans. He explained his 'reasoning' in a speech to the senate, citing evidence the Bothans 'harbored the enemies of the Empire.' Needless to say, neither the Bothans nor the senate were impressed. In fact, most of the Empire, when they heard the news, openly spoke out against the war effort.

After five years of full blown civil war, followed by three more under an oppressive regime, the people had finally had enough. The next day, 8.18.-1, an ultimatum was issued by the Communal Party and supporters, which consisted of at least 60% of senators at that point.

In it, they stated the Emperor must step down, sign a white peace with the Bothans, (who gave every indication they were willing to comply the day after) and allow a provisional government to take control. At the insistence of the Communals' allies, a sizable 20% of the 60% coalition, Palpatine was guaranteed safety and offered his estate on Naboo to live out the rest of his days.

Historians usually agree; this was a fair offer, probably more generous than Palpatine could have dreamed of. For the first time, and probably last until the Great Patriotic War, the Communals and the Liberals agreed on something: both absolutely hated Palpatine. Without the 'protection clause', as it became known, Palpatine would have likely been lynched by Coruscanti mobs before the end of the week.

This ultimatum was the last chance Palpatine had for a bloodless resolution. He utterly blew it.

Instead of accepting the proposal, or even entering negotiations, which was the least he could do, all accounts say he flew into a rage. As Sate Pestage, present when the document was handed to the Emperor, would recount in a letter to his wife:

 _"...when [the Emperor] received the ultimatum from Mothma and the others ... he flew into an uncontrollable rage. The window shattered ... lamps bent beyond repair. I backed into a corner and waited for his rage to subside, then asked him what he wanted me to do ... That was the most terrifying experience of my life."_

Why Pestage was scared of an elderly politician is unknown, though Palpatine certainly appears to be in shape if he 'bent lamps beyond repair'.

* * *

*Captain Hanson of the _Shockwave_ would later recount in a 31 APR interview, "We all knew Palpatine put us where we are. We also knew that what he was doing was wrong. I couldn't go through with it. I joined up with the revolutionaries with a few of my buddies about a month before they seized power." Captain Hanson would die a decade later in the Great Patriotic War, as a Senior Captain.

**By 4.1.-1, the Communal Party occupied 32% of senate seats. They were the only party other than Palpatine's Monarchist faction (54%) and the Neutral Pacifists (10%) to hold more than 5% of seats.


End file.
